To Keep A Promise
by Bukiyo-Nikku
Summary: Naruto’s battle with Sasuke is proving too difficult for him, what is he willing to sacrifice in order to keep his promise to Sakura?As far as an extended storyline goes, it will be basically a romance, but that is still up in the air. Chico
1. Humanity Forsaken

Written by Bukiyo-Nikku and El-Chico-de-Fuego

**"Yo." ** Naruto speaking in demon form, and Kyuubi

"Yo." Normal Speech.

* * *

To Keep a Promise 

Summary: Naruto's battle with Sasuke is proving too difficult for him, what is he willing to sacrifice in order to keep his promise to Sakura? No real pairings, maybe NaruxSaku if I right more chapters.

* * *

The sky had begun to darken around the valley, all forms of life desperately trying to run from the intense onslaught of raw power and speed. The sky had flares and flashes of white and red, each opponent trying to overcome the other only to have their attacks countered. Now they stood on the two monuments, each glaring at the other. One second later they were getting ready to attack again. One's hand started to glow with black and white lightning, in the other's a sphere of rotating red and black chaos. Both of them, seeing the other's attack, began to put their full power into it. They both jumped from their perches, and sped towards the other. Then the attacks hit and all that was heard was "Rasengan!" "Chidori!" and then a flash of white light ensued. After the light subsided, there was a lone figure standing over the other. "Naruto, you tried your best, but I'm still stronger than you could ever hope to be." Said the raven haired boy. But, unbeknownst to him the boy he was standing over was in front of a dark and ancient looking cage.

* * *

"Oi, Baka-kitsune! Give me more power!" Naruto yelled into the dark space. The only reply was a barrage of laughter and a grin of non other than the Kyuubi no Kitsune. "**And why should I do that Gaki? If you take anymore of my power we would die, not to mention the power would be released in an explosion that would destroy everything in a three hundred mile radius."** answered the snide fox. In a pissed off way, Naruto looked at the Kitsune that wouldn't help him. He put all of his emotions and the remainder of his chakra into one last attack. He jumped into the cage and placed a chakra enhanced kunai onto the fox's neck, right over the jugular. "Either give me the rest of what you have, or I'll kill you." said the now angered preteen. The fox stopped with his attitude and looked at what had just happened. He knew then that he was in deep, deep shit. If he tried to kill the boy he would in fact be killing himself as well, and in the worse possible way, but he also knew that if he didn't do anything the boy would kill them both anyway. So he chose to do what the kid asked, but he knew that the kid would die from that kind of power, so he had to improvise. **"Ok, Gaki, but this is gonna hurt like a son of a bitch."** He said. "I don't give a fuck how much it'll hurt teme! Just give it to me, NOW!" the blond brat said. **"So be it."** And immediately after that Naruto's vision began to blacken sending him back into consciousness.

* * *

All he saw was that teme Sasuke standing over him looking smug. He got angry at the sight. But before he could do anything about it his body started to glow and was racked with pain, the most intense pain he had ever felt, and with his being beaten to near death before, he was surprised. Sasuke looked at his now glowing form and began to back away "So Dobe, you still got some fight left in you after all huh?" Sasuke said as he got into a comfortable taijutsu position. "**Heh, you have no idea, but like I said, you're coming back with me, by extreme force if necessary. Prepare yourself." **He said in a demonic voice, it was still his voice, but it had the word death all over it. Sasuke just looked back at him scared when suddenly the glowing became brighter and red energy leaked out all over him. The energy created one tail, then another sprouted, then when the third one spouted something strange happened the tails became actual tails, fox tails. Sasuke looked at him with clear shock and was locked in place by the small amount of killer intent leaking from the tails. Then another tail sprouted and the energy started to pick up the dirt and water around him, disintegrating it as it reached him. The matter simply started to gather around Naruto diving into the seal on his stomach. The matter wouldn't stop coming to him as he grew his other five tails. After the ninth tail had grown in the matter that shot into his seal began to disperse throughout his body. He screamed out in pain as he began growing, his legs curving into those of a fox, his hands and feet becoming paws, and his face beginning to form a muzzle. The matter stopped flowing into him as he reached the same height and form as the Kyuubi. The only thing that could distinguish Naruto from the Kyuubi was his fur and eyes. His eyes were still partially sapphire blue with ruby red mixed in and now slit and his fur was the same golden blond, but now had black tips on his tails, paws, and ears. Sasuke looked at him and nearly shit his pants. Naruto gave him one swing of the paw, and he was thrown into the cliff and knocked out. Naruto grabbed him carefully with one of his tails and began to walk towards Konoha. As he began to walk off, Kakashi jumped out of the bushes and stared at Naruto. As he was looking at the now three hundred foot fox boy, he noticed that Sasuke wrapped in one of the tails. "Shit! Sasuke! Naruto must have released the Kyuubi!" Kakashi was panicking wondering what he could possibly do. Then he did the only thing he could and began to fire up the Raikiri. Naruto looked at him like he was nuts, took a tail and grabbed him and Pakkun, who had just walked out of the brushes, then started his run towards Konoha again.

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As he was running, he put them on his back. Pakkun was the first to speak up "Oi, Naruto, why are you a giant fox?" Pakkun simply asked. **"Explain later, ok?"** Naruto said as softly as he could. Kakashi's eyes bugged out as he looked at the fox noticing the strange features it didn't have the first time. Blond fur and partially blue eyes, strange features for any fox, let alone one of death and destruction were on this one Pakkun just called Naruto. "Oi, gomen nasai Naruto, I over reacted." Kakashi said sadly as the fox's ears perked up. "**That's ok Kakashi-sensei! What else could you have thought?"** came the simple and truthful response from the fox boy. As he drew nearer to Konoha, he began to pick up familiar scents. Shikamaru was the first scent he picked up, and with his that girl from sand. With that taken in he noticed four other scents with theirs, namely Kiba, Kankuro, Gaara, and Lee. He went to the spot where they were trying to pick Kiba up without hurting him. Naruto noticed and walked up to them picking them all up except for Kiba. A few of them nearly crapped themselves as Naruto picked them up, while Gaara simply said, "Uzumaki Naruto, good of you to join us." The others looked to Kakashi and he pointed towards the head of the fox. **"Yo!"** Naruto said in a Kakashi like manner. Everyone except for Gaara sweat-dropped at his mimicry. He placed a tail over Kiba and poured a trace of chakra from him to Kiba and Akamaru. Their wounds got a little better and Naruto deemed them travel safe. He put them on his back and started running again. He ran into the woods towards Konoha and picked up Neji and Chouji on the way using his tails as a stopper for Neji's hole in his right side and supplied chakra to Chouji so his heart wouldn't stop. Then Kiba and Akamaru began to feel the effects of Naruto's chakra, their own chakra reserves widened greatly, and as an added effect, they both became a little more feral. Their canines grew longer and so did their claws, their hair got a bit wilder and started to change color a bit, Kiba got two streaks of red in his hair while Akamaru's fur became a darker shade of white, with a single red streak running down each side from mid shoulder to hip. Kiba looked over his and Akamaru's new changes noticing a tingle in his hand, more specifically, a tattoo of a fox head with nine tails circling it. Akamaru had the same thing on his paw. He also noticed he could read Akamaru's thoughts, and vice versa. "Oi, baka-kitsune! Arigato Gozaimasu!!" he said excitedly everyone now noticing Kiba's changes. **"Heh, no problem inu, it'll only work on you though, seeing as how you're more closely connected to animals than the rest of them."** Satisfied with his answer Kiba fell asleep from exhaustion.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later Naruto & Co. arrived at the gates of Konoha while the villagers were screaming bloody murder about the Kyuubi returning to finish what he started. Naruto smirked, while the rest of them (Minus those unconscious and Gaara) looked at him scared, most of them knowing how badly the village treated him. Then a giant toad appeared and a man with long white hair on top of it yelled "GET AWAY FROM HERE YOU MONSTER! YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH DAMAGE ALREADY!" Naruto looked back at Jiraiya and Gumabunta. **"Ero-sennin, I'm hurt you think that I did any real damage, I mean my pranks were big sometimes but there were no lasting damages, 'cept of course the mental damage. The word 'pancake' still work?"** At the word Jiraiya jumped. Then He and Gumabunta registered something… "GAKI???/NARUTO???" They yelled. Naruto just gave a foxy grin, as a fox it really worked, then jumped over them and landed in front of the hospital. **"Oi, Tsunade-baachan! Get to the roof NOW!" **he yelled as a big busted woman appeared on the roof as Naruto laid the injured in front of her. "We're talking about this later gaki." She said. The rest got off of him as he shifted to a near human form. He still had his tails and ears. She got to work on the group immediately as Sakura walked over to Naruto. "Na..Naruto…THANK YOU!!" She yelled as she hugged him. "Hey Sakura-chan, are you happy now?" he asked. "Of course! You brought him back just like you promised!" she exclaimed happily. He smiled and said "That's good... that means I did the right thing." "Huh?" she looked at him now noticing the tails and ears. Her eyes bugged out and she looked distraught with guilt, wondering 'What happened to him? Did the promise he made to me make him do it?', then he said "I just want you to be happy, even if it cost me my humanity." He said with a weak smile and walked off.

* * *

We hope you like this, it's kinda our first fanfic of naruto, not to mention working as a team to write.. Please review! We need all the help we can get! 


	2. Reflections of a Cherry Blossom

**Idea:** Bukiyo-Nikku

**Writing****(from here on out):** El-Chico-de-Fuego

Overall, I liked my version of chapter one better, but he did a good job, except the block format :P 

Anyways... Chapter 2 is finally here! I have taken over the writing for this series, with Bukiyo-Nikku editing and changing dialogue around a bit. For those of you wondering how long this is going to run/how often we update this, I can answer your questions! 

1. This will be longer than 5 chapters  
2. This will be updated bi-weekly (give or take a day or two)

Anyways, for those of you interested in reading my version of chapter one (the one Bukiyo decided to turn down due to its sheer length : ) just PM me and I can e-mail it to you. Just remember that I wrote these so you can't host/distribute it on your or anyone elses' website(s) without my expressed permission (like you would want to anyways ;P) 

Also, just remember that Naruto is NOT my creation. I DO NOT, in ANY WAY, SHAPE, or FORM, own the rights to Naruto or any of its other characters, plotlines, ideas, etc. (If he did, viz just might go bankrupt)  
Enjoy Chapter 2.

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The sun was beginning to set as Sakura headed out from the hospital. Sasuke was safe and had already begun recovering from what Tsunade said was a beating like no other, and Sakura was dwelling on the events that had occurred over the last 24 hours as she was heading home. Ever since the previous night she intercepted Sasuke before he knocked her out, she had felt nothing but despair for what might follow.

But what was it that she was feeling now? Ever since Naruto had returned, her entire attitude and outlook had changed completely. Now that Sasuke was back, she had another chance to win him over and keep him here. Now that Sasuke was back, team 7 was whole again. Now that Sasuke was back… he could continue his training under the supervision of Kakashi and, as Tsunade stated at the hospital, "more than likely a few ANBU Agents as well." Even if Sasuke had to be constantly watched due to his recent attempt to flee the village and seek a ninja who had betrayed Konoha and killed the Third Hokage, Orochimaru, it was better than him having escaped and being out of her reach for good.

The biggest downside to Sasuke's supervision was that if more than a few ANBU were watching his every move day and night, how could she bring herself to make a move on him? They would hear every word of what they would be talking about, and that thought did not amuse her. She wanted to talk to him alone, but even before they entered the Chuunin exam, he had always wanted complete solitude, which was now obviously out of the question. But, even if Sasuke were to run away again, it wouldn't really matter. From the reports she had overheard at the hospital, Sakura managed to understand that Naruto's training had apparently greatly surpassed that of Sasuke with Kakashi. And, if things continued the way they were, Naruto would be able to bring Sasuke back should he attempt to flee again.

She arrived at her doorstep as these last thoughts echoed into the back of her mind. She quickly dismissed any further thoughts regarding the day's events and focused on the dinner her mother had placed on the table for her. It was really annoying when her mother attempted to talk of Sasuke, saying that if she really liked Sasuke so much, she should be more dedicated to him. Sakura quickly dismissed her mother's remark, finished the rest of her dinner, and proceeded to get ready for bed.

After she had showered and slipped into her nightclothes, Sakura attempted to sleep away the day that nearly decimated her hopes and dreams. But, try as she might, sleep would not come. Instead, thoughts of team 7 and their missions together flooded her mind. Although, this time, her thoughts weren't mostly about Sasuke; they included a bit of Naruto as well.

She remembered their first mission, in the Country of Waves, where she and Kakashi ended up fighting a formidable Hidden Village of the Mist ninja named Zabuza, while Naruto and Sasuke fought his genius apprentice, Haku. She remembered how she felt all hope was lost when Naruto and Sasuke were trapped within Haku's Ice Mirror Bloodline Technique, and how much she cried when she thought Sasuke had died. She remembered watching them both train until nightfall, sometimes even falling asleep in the woods and only returning for meals. They both got stronger both physically and skill-wise, while she simply improved her already-outstanding chakra control.

Still, sleep would not come, and her mind drifted again. Now, memories of the Chuunin exam were milling over in her mind. The challenge of the Heaven and Earth scrolls, where Sasuke and Naruto almost died again, only, this time, saved by her desire to protect her teammates no matter what, came rushing in, clear as day. Sasuke, or maybe even Naruto, could have handled the three Sound-nin by themselves, but, with her current abilities, she could not. If Lee had not stalled the Sound ninja long enough, she and her teammates probably would not have survived. Even her long-time rival Ino had lent a hand in stopping the Sound ninja, until Sasuke woke up, looking scarier than ever. Sakura had easily noticed his power, the seals covering his body only reinforcing that. The seals she knew were from who she now knew was Orochimaru, who was seeking for Sasuke for some reason.

She was nodding off to sleep now, slowly but surely. Reminiscing about past missions was interesting, but boring none-the-less. Before her dreaming began, she remembered her last hopeless moments before Sasuke knocked her out. She could hear herself telling Sasuke to stay, because she loved him and, if he stayed, every day they would do something different and always be happy. She remembered how weak and needy she felt begging him to stay. And then, she fell asleep…

* * *

Sakura's Dream

It was sunny outside and she could feel herself basking in the radiance of the sun. The leaves on the tress were swaying back and forth, in rhythm with the wind, and everything around her was normal as it should be. She was somewhere in the middle of the forest, and in the distance she could hear the rumble of water falling and the clash of water on rock. Wishing to explore the place her dream put her in, she decided to follow the noises.

The air around her was peaceful, and the entire world seemed to be in a state of complete tranquility. Even her footsteps made no sound, even though this _was_ a _dream_. To her this was the perfect day, one on which she would love to walk with Sasuke and talk about each other, and it seemed as if almost nothing could upset this peaceful atmosphere.

But then, she heard an explosion. and another, and another. What was once quiet and tranquil was quickly becoming a war zone, it seemed, full of rumbling and explosions. She even heard a rather distinct growling sound, as if some sort of animal was making all this noise.

Sakura stealthily approached the place she heard the sounds coming from, and peered through the edge of the bushed to try and catch a glimpse of what was going on. She noticed two figures, but only their silhouettes were visible in this light. She dared not move any closer, for fear of being noticed, so she simply sat and waited for them to move into better positions so she might identify these two ninja in her dream.

Their appearances seemed familiar somehow, but the way they fought was nothing like anyone she had seen before. The one on the far side, who was facing her, began to move. No, he only seemed to be moving. Instead, Sakura noticed his silhouette changing shape, becoming larger and lower to the ground. The figure was now on all fours, on its haunches ready to strike. The other figure seemed frightened, almost as if he didn't realize had happened to the other ninja. All Sakura could discern from when the large figure lunged forward towards the now-frightened ninja was a blur of yellow fur, and then… she woke up.

* * *

Reality

She awoke to her mother's voice, "Sakura! Wake up or you are going to miss breakfast!" Her mother's voice could not have come at a worse time, waking her up at the climax of her dream. Who were the two ninja fighting in her dream? What were they fighting about? These questions, and more, made her curious to see what the outcome of their fight would have been. She had recognized the fact that they seemed quite familiar, but she didn't know any ninja who could change their shape and strike that much fear into their enemies, nor did she know anyone who fought at the level which those two did, excluding Kakashi and the Hokage, Tsunade.

"Sakura", her mother called from the kitchen. "Eat your dinner and get to the hospital! Who's to say that Sasuke-kun hasn't picked up and ran off again?"

There she goes again always trying to get Sakura to get Sasuke and settle down before any of the neighbors did first. She was more annoying than ever lately, especially after she found out what had happened the night Sasuke had run away, intent on finding Orochimaru, and gaining the power promised to him.

"Sakura! If you don't come and eat **right now**, I am going to force you to work with Ino at her family's shop… **for free!**"

This wasn't the kind of thing Sakura had in mind for the next couple of months, so she quickly abided by her mother's constant nagging and ate her dinner.

"You should go see your teammates in the hospital", Sakura's mother said calmly. "I heard the Hokage say she felt Sasuke-kun could get up and move around today. Maybe you should go help him get out of his bed and walk with him until he recovers completely."

She _really_ liked to push the issue, didn't she? "Whatever, Kaa-san, I'll go see Sasuke in the hospital and help him. He is my teammate after all."

"Only your teammate?" her mother replied with a grin. "Given up on him already, have you? Are you going to let Ino-chan beat you that easily? Or maybe it's Hinata-sama or Tenten -san that you think has won him already?"

Couldn't she just drop the issue? It was her decision on what she would do today, and listening to her mother bicker about settling down was _definitely_ not on that "To do" list.

"You should also go and see that other teammate of yours. You know the one you always complain about for being a complete moron, incapable of doing anything correctly? It seems as if he didn't screw up this time, you should go and apologize and thank him for what he has done for you, salvaging what could have been the end of your life with Sasuke."

"Whatever, Kaa-san", Sakura replied. She didn't need to be told twice. Naruto had succeeded where she had failed, no matter how much she didn't want to admit it. It seemed he truly didn't just give up, and he actually _beat_ Sasuke on top of that. It seems Sasuke's presence on team 7 isn't simply to make up for Naruto's ability. Now it seemed team 7 was two excellent ninja balancing out _her_ ability instead. But enough of this thought, she had to go to the hospital to see Sasuke, and make sure he was all right.

As Sakura headed out her door toward the hospital, she thought she glimpsed a blur of yellow, like in her dream, but it was just the sun slowly climbing over the treetops. She walked past Ino's house and turned the corner, heading straight towards the hospital. The chilly wind was blowing in her face, filling her body with a deep cold sensation, but she kept on towards the hospital, where it was safe and warm.

Her body felt almost completely numb as she entered the hospital. The nurse at the desk was silently filing papers when Sakura approached the desk.

"Umm… excuse me", Sakura said meekly. "I am looking for the room Uchiha Sasuke is in." She knew the room. It was the same room he had been in since the Chuunin exam, but Tsunade-sama made it a regulation to check in at the desk anyways, so no unsuspected visitors show up.

"Oh, good morning there, Sakura-san", the nurse replied, not looking up. "Sasuke-san is in room 24. I will check you in, so you can go ahead and go in and see him."

As the nurse scribbled her name on the clipboard under room 24, she noticed that three other names had already been checked in to his room, one of which was Ino. _It figures as much_._ Ino always gets an early jump on things. She is probably already fawning over him, causing him more pain than he is already in. When I get my hands on her, won't she regret it!_

As she slid open the door to room 24, she could see Sasuke and Ino sitting down, Ino in a chair, Sasuke in his bed. Neither of them was talking, as if they were waiting for someone. As fate would have it, that person was indeed her.

They both looked up as she walked into the room. She walked towards Sasuke and was almost about to talk when she noticed there was a third person in the room, her Sensei, Kakashi. He was standing along the far wall, reading the same book he always did, never seeming to finish it. It was he who spoke first.

"Sakura, glad you could make it", he said to her, not looking up from his book. "We have been waiting for the better part of an hour for you, and were just about to come and get you ourselves, except that Sasuke is still recovering from, well… you know…" He let it drop.

"I'm fine", Sasuke replied. "I was just knocked out, nothing serious happened."

"_Nothing serious happened?!"_ a fourth voice exclaimed. _"You almost die and you have the audacity to say that 'nothing serious' has happened?! It took more than 16 hours for the best medical ninja in Konoha, including myself, to heal the wounds you incurred during your little 'fight' where 'nothing serious' happened."_

It was Tsunade. The way she spoke was too authoritative to be anyone else, that, and the fact that she was the best medical ninja in Konoha alone. "But", she started again. "What happened yesterday is not the important thing at the moment. Naruto's whereabouts are currently unknown, as with his current condition. He, unlike _you_, Sasuke, did not receive any medical treatment directly after your 'fight', so his condition may be just as bad or even worse than yours was."

She had a look of concern on her face, one the almost screamed her emotions to everyone in the room. "And so, this is why I am charging you three, _yes_, even you, Sasuke, to go with Kakashi to find Naruto and report his location and condition to me. It is about time you all stopped skulking about the past and do something constructive for once I think. You leave immediately, so prepare what last-minute items you may need, and begin the mission."

And with that, Tsunade strode from the room, her yellow ponytail a yellow blur as she exited the room and quickly turned down the hallway, bringing Sakura's dream back to the forefront of her mind.

* * *

Summary

This is the second installment of To Keep a Promise series. This chapter regards the thoughts and feelings of Sakura after Naruto returns with Sasuke, acting weird, although it's not as if she cares, so long as her Sasuke is back.

Regarding my writing structures, I write third person objective for the entirety of the story. If you don't like, then don't read it. For those who like the story but think I do not include enough dialogue, let me set your mind at ease. I **love** to write dialogue; it's just that this chapter wasn't really meant to be chock-full of it. If you want more dialogue, then next chapter, you will **definitely** get it. To quote a very, very, very, **_VERY_** terrible line, "Believe it!" (Please don't kill me for saying that! It was meant to be a joke!)


	3. Searching for a Fox, Truths Unveiled

"**To Keep a Promise" – Chapter 3**

**Summary:** Well, Chapter 3 is out (duh!). In this installment of the "To Keep a Promise" series, the team meets Jiraiya and learns of his involvement in Naruto's growth, as well as information regarding where Naruto may be! Will they meet up with him before someone else does? Just start reading already!

* * *

The sun had risen to its highest point as the newly-formed team of Sakura, Ino, Sasuke, and Kakashi set out, already delayed 20 minutes due to impromptu preparation. They had already planned out the stops they would make in order to gather information on Naruto's whereabouts. While this list had a number of places Naruto could be, the first stop was his home, though they didn't expect to find much.

Kakashi had picked Naruto's lock in a matter of seconds, and the team slowly entered Naruto's shabby apartment. Despite its small size compared to many of Konoha's similar structures, Naruto's apartment was, after all, only meant to accommodate one person, and the team's search of it for potential clues was quick. Nothing was out of place or seemed as if it had been disturbed recently, and a thin layer of dust covered the kitchen table, where, as expected of Naruto, a carton of milk was found, warm and unbelievable smelly.

The team quickly left Naruto's apartment, although not before Sakura used an exploding tag on the carton of milk several meters away from the building. They all pretty much knew that Naruto hadn't come home since his battle with Sasuke, but checking his house first was simply a formality to which they had to adhere.

"Kakashi-sensei", Sakura started. "Next on our list of stops is Ichiraku, Naruto's favorite place to eat. Do you really think he went there since he returned to Konoha?"

"Not really", Kakashi answered. "But, you know as well as I do that we must check all possible locations where he could have potentially gone before we start to 'what if' anything. Besides, Naruto still _may_ have gone there to… how should I say… 'honor' what happened earlier that day."

It was a little childish how Kakashi-sensei was acting, although the reasoning behind it was flawless. By _not_ throwing the events that occurred at the Valley of the End back into Sasuke's face, he was effectively evading another attempt of flight from Sasuke.

As they arrived at Ichiraku, several customers were already seated and enjoying hot bowls of ramen. The smells that emanated from the shop were almost enough to make the group stay for lunch, but their current mission was too important to waste time eating. A meal they could go without, but a missing boy with a powerful demon inside of him was a completely other matter. Jiraiya had already informed Kakashi about a special organization known as Akatsuki, who had been seeking the bijuu for some unknown purpose, but the rest of the team, except Sasuke, was well unaware of them.

Despite his immense urge to inform everyone else in the group of the true reasons for the search, Kakashi had to resist it as best as he could. This information was only to be revealed on a need-to-know basis. The chances of them running into this group of powerful shinobi, one of whom was Sasuke's brother, Uchiha Itachi, was small, but it was a risk that must be avoided at any cost. Even if this group of four ninja encountered Itachi alone, it still would not be enough to overpower him. Naruto definitely had to be found, and soon, if any encounter with Itachi or any of his fellow Akatsuki members was to be avoided.

Kakashi had already finished speaking with the owner of Ichiraku when a familiar white-haired man appeared before the team. Kakashi already knew who this ninja was, and Sakura had met him once before, but to Sasuke and Ino, he was a complete stranger. They had neither been around nor heard of this man, despite his legendary stature of being one of the Sannin under the tutelage of the Sandaime. Although Jiraiya had already begun to speak, Kakashi had not heard him, or at least acted like he did not, and began to introduce his team to Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya-sama, I am sure you already know the three shinobi behind me, but, I am going to introduce them anyways, just to be formal. The one with the black hair is Sasuke, although I do believe you two both know each other already, from the reports I have heard; the one with the pink hair is Sakura, and I am sure that she met you that time when you moved Tsunade's things into her new office; and last but not least, the blonde-haired girl is Ino, who I am not quite sure whether or not she has heard of you."

All three of the just-introduced shinobi responded with a simple nod of their heads when Kakashi called out their names.

"Yeah, yeah, Kakashi hurry it up we don't have all day for introductions", Jiraiya stated hotly. "I sought you out to give you some leads as to Naruto's whereabouts and you go off and start introducing me to people I already know!"

"Yes, but, they do not know who you _truly_ are." He looked towards the rest of his team. "Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, this man here is one of the three legendary Sannin who were trained under the Sandaime." He looked back to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, the _real_ reason I wanted to introduce these shinobi to you was not for _your_ benefit, but for _theirs_ instead. For this we can delay the search for Naruto a bit."

"All right Kakashi", Jiraiya responded in a much more serious tone. "Just make it quick."

"Excellent", Kakashi simply responded. He looked towards the rest of his team. "Okay, now I am going to explain to you three just what exactly has been going on these past few weeks. You probably won't be surprised to hear that a man named Orochimaru, another of the Sannin, had been planning the destruction of Konoha for quite some time now, lurking in the shadows, waiting for his opportunity to strike. What will probably surprise you two, Sakura and Ino, is that another group was lurking in the same shadows as Orochimaru, although their objectives differed slightly. While Orochimaru wanted to destroy Konoha and eliminate all of its power, this other organization known only as 'Akatsuki' wanted to strip Konoha of its most powerful being… that of… the Kyuubi."

And as Kakashi's words slowly sank into the deep recesses of their minds, Sakura, Sasuke, and Ino slowly began to realize what he had really said.

* * *

The stone in front of Naruto felt cold and rough, even though the sun had been shining for the better part of the day. The writing on this stone was just barely faded around the edges, having the same grayish texture that similar stones had. The words on the stone brought back memories to Naruto, both good and bad.

_Why did it have to be like this?_ Naruto asked himself. _Why did I do it? Why did I sacrifice the only remaining thing I could call my own in order to save someone who lives only to kill his brother? Why…why…why…?_

Naruto's thoughts were all of regret. He was second-guessing his decision back at the Valley of the End, trying to understand what compelled him to give up his own humanity for the sake of someone who still didn't recognize him for who he was… _a hero, right? _

_Sandaime, you gave your life to protect this village. You fought and died by the hand of one you had hoped would succeed you, and, in turn, your sacrifice saved the village. That makes you a hero… right? If that's what it takes, am I considered a hero as well?_

_Even though I didn't die protecting what I hold dear, as you did, am I still considered a hero to be praised? _

_Even though my deed did nothing more than bring me regret, while it brought others happiness beyond belief, can I still be proud for what I have done?_

His fists clenched tightly, and his eyes began to water.

_Even though I… sacrificed my humanity for something I thought was right at the time… can I… still be considered human?_

These thoughts coursed through Naruto's mind as he silently reflected at the monument dedicated to past Hokages, the men whom he had both hated and looked up to for the same reason: they were Hokages of Konoha. Naruto's dream of becoming Hokage was very much alive at that time, despite how he acted in the academy and on missions. This misbehavior was just a mask covering the real side of Naruto, the one where he was serious and undaunted by the remarks others had concerning his dream.

Now, what was that dream? It was just a pile of ash, smoldering in the corner, burning weakly like a small ember flickering in the wind. His dreams… how could they be completed now? He was no longer a human. He and the Kyuubi had become one in the same; two minds occupying one body; two wills battling one battle; two instincts… trying to survive in a world full of hate, one wanting to destroy all who impede, the other wishing only to surpass them.

It had started to rain, as Naruto knelt there, next to the monument, on the muddy earth. The rain didn't bother him, however. In a way, the world was crying at a time when he could not, for the world was the only true witness to what he had gone through up to this point. Nobody else paid attention, let alone cared, about "that failure over there". Even when he saved his teammates half a dozen times from situations where they would otherwise have been killed, he received no notice from any of them, excluding of course the half-hearted "thank you" he received from them afterwards; and even then, those never had any real emotion in them. Even when he brought Sasuke back, Sakura was more concerned about Sasuke's health and welfare than thanking him for doing something she said "nobody else could do". How is _that_ for a "thank you"?

But he had already spent enough time mulling over the thoughts in his head. It had been well over 24 hours since he had gone to retrieve Sasuke, and by now Tsunade had ordered a search for him, thinking that he was grievously injured or something. He was fine, however, except for the after-effects of his sacrifice. He now had nine blonde tails that seemed to be poking out of his ass, and on his head rose two triangular fox ears. The worst part of it all was that he would be permanently stuck with these "extra limbs". The only way to get rid of them was to use the "Henge no Jutsu", although the immense amount of chakra it would take to hold it for the rest of his life would be unrealistically large; and there was no point in using shadow clones to do everything he wanted, because then he would only know their experiences, when he wanted to do the stuff himself.

The rain was coming harder now, and Naruto decided it was about time he returned to his temporary place of living, where he could quietly sift through his thoughts and feeling without interruption. It was, after all, the place he had first learned the "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu", and only him, Iruka-sensei, the Sandaime, and a criminal named Mizuki knew of its importance.

And it was with these thoughts that Naruto headed towards the place he made his unconscious vows, to protect his friends like the family he never had, and to constantly improve despite hardship. But little did he know, that this place wasn't only memorable for him; a small, white-haired ninja, right around Naruto's age at the time, once frequented that place long ago, and made some memories of his own there too…

* * *

"… And so, you can all see why this mission is so important."

The voice belonged to Kakashi, and he had just finished explaining the true purpose of their mission to Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino. The looks on their face mimicked the thoughts in their minds, for they couldn't believe what Kakashi had said. It was one thing when he had said it was Jiraiya-sama that had been training Naruto since the Chuunin exam finals began, but it was quite another to say that Naruto had a demon sealed inside him and that was why he was both a great threat, and a great ally, to Konoha.

Despite the fact that Sasuke had already experienced first-hand what Naruto's demon powers had given him, he still seemed a little stricken at what Kakashi had just explained, even if his face didn't quite show it.

"Kakashi-sensei", Sakura began after the long pause that followed Kakashi last words. "Does this mean that… ever since he was in the academy… so he couldn't control himself because…" The words would not come out. What she had wanted to say, she couldn't. But, before she could continue, Kakashi had finished her statement.

"Yes, Sakura, ever since Naruto was but a couple days old, he had been alone, with no mother or father to love and care for him. Ever since that day the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi inside Naruto, Naruto had been shunned for what the Yondaime said he should be praised for: having the Kyuubi inside of him. After that time, the Sandaime issued an order to the villagers that under no circumstances would they mention Naruto's secret, on penalty of death should they ignore the command. Although the command banned the speaking of Naruto's secret, it didn't prohibit silent actions, and thus, the older ninja began to shun him for what they thought he really was: a demon. The main reason for the Hokage's command was so that Naruto could grow up an ordinary kid, and make friends like one too. Unfortunately, the children of these older ninja copied their parent's feelings toward Naruto and shunned him as well, making that quite impossible. That is the true story behind the shinobi you three know as Uzumaki Naruto."

The things Kakashi had just stated had struck them all. Naruto wasn't born a failure; he was changed and altered by the presence inside him. It wasn't his fault he couldn't mold chakra correctly or perform simply justsus easily; it was the Kyuubi inside him that impeded his progress. But for him to come so far having this limit set on him, maybe he was more than everyone thought he was?

"But, now is not the time to regret the things we may have said or done to Naruto; we have to find him as Hokage-sama ordered us, before somebody else does so first."

As Kakashi finished these last words, Jiraiya stepped forward. He took out a scroll and unbound its casing, then removed and spread it out in his hands.

"Kakashi", Jiraiya began. "Now that your history lesson on my pupil is finished, let me inform you of some things I have overheard and discovered during the past few hours."

He pointed to a small opening on the map. "This is the training center, where I overheard a woman saying an odd-looking kid in an orange jumpsuit was just staring at three large, wooden poles for the better part of an hour, and then suddenly got up and left."

He pointed to another location on the map. "This place is where another woman said she saw a similar kid sitting in a tree, not moving or anything. She said she went over to inspect the kid and saw he had plenty of cuts and bruises on his face, but not much blood. When I asked about anything strange she may have noticed regarding this kid she saw, she only replied that he appeared to be wearing some costume, as if he had just been to some party, which would explain his immense need for sleep."

He pointed to a spot on the map that was circled in red ink. "This is the place where I used to spend my time improving my jutsus as a young ninja. While I was revisiting this place of my childhood, I recognized a certain scent in the air, a very _familiar_ scent if you understand my meaning. I think Naruto was hiding from me while I was there, but I didn't realize this until I went back again and saw a shred of orange cloth that had ripped on a nearby bush. This cloth confirmed my suspicions that Naruto is in that general area."

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama", Kakashi said. "We will skip over our next couple of destinations and head there. If Naruto's scent is still lingering in the area, we will find him, even though the rain may hinder our progress a little."

It was after Kakashi said this that he bit his finger and went through the "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" hand signs in an almost lightning-quick gesture. In the cloud of smoke that followed the jutsu, the shadow of a small dog could be seen. This dog, Sakura and Sasuke both knew, was Pakkun, Kakashi's best tracking dog.

"Pakkun, we are looking for Naruto, the blonde-headed ninja we sent you on a mission with before. I will tell you our current situation along the way." He turned to the three shinobi behind him, and then said, "Everyone, let's go!"

And off they went, Kakashi and Pakkun, followed by Sasuke and Sakura, with Ino taking the rear guard, to the place Jiraiya had marked on the map, hoping their search was finally coming to an end…

* * *

(AN) Note that Sasuke and Ino don't speak at all! Hehehehehe... ;D 


End file.
